


Love and Justice

by TheBoredIntern



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-23 00:38:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6099160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBoredIntern/pseuds/TheBoredIntern
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Illusive Man wants Shepard to pick up a mysterious weapon found in the ice on Earth that could help in the fight against the Reapers. What they find is not what they expected but will it be what they need to win this war? Follows the events of Mass Effect 2 and beyond.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Shepard, I need you to go to Earth to pick up a package." The Illusive Man sat in his chair, looking out at the Red Giant his station orbited and took a drag of his cigarette.

"I accepted a mission to fight the Collectors, not to be a Cerberus delivery boy. I don't have time for this."

The Illusive Man folded his hands and leaned back in his chair, a suspicious light flickered in his cybernetic eyes. "I understand your urgency Shepard, however my resources inform me that this package may be of great use to you and your team on this mission and I need you to recover it immediately."

"Is that an order? What kind of package is this?"

The Illusive Man took another thoughtful drag of his cigarette before answering. "We don't know for sure. We found it off the arctic coast of Greenland encased in ice giving off unusual energy signals." He leans forward, eyes bright with excitement. "My resource informs me that it is an invaluable weapon to our fight against the Reapers."

"Then I guess this isn't an opportunity we can pass up."

"My thoughts exactly, I've sent you the coordinates. Good luck, Shepard."

…

_**Garrus Vakarian** _

Heavy feet striding to the Main Battery, I heard him coming before the doors even opened.

"Shepard. Need me for something?"

"Garrus, do you have a minute to talk?"

"Sure, just killing time anyway. What did the Illusive Man want?"

Shepard hesitated before answering, something that does not happen often. Commander Shepard has always been known for his ability to know exactly what he's doing, make tough decisions, and anticipate those of others but ever since Cerberus brought him back, he seems to be fighting with himself. After my time on Omega, I learned all about the pressure of his kind of leadership. As well as having lives counting on you. It's a lesson that will haunt me for the rest of my days.

I can only imagine what it must be like to deal with being dead for two years before being brought back to life by a terrorist organization only to be thrown back into the fire to save hundreds of thousands of human lives. Just thinking about it almost makes me miss the red tape of C-Sec. Almost.

"He needs us to go pick up some sort of weapon from Earth. He says it can help us with the Collectors and maybe even the Reapers."

"So I've been calibrating this new Thanix for nothing? Damn. It packs a hell of a punch though."

Shepard shook his head and laughed.

"I'm sure we'll still need big guns for this fight but…" he became serious again, "what do you think of Cerberus? I still don't trust them..."

"But they sure give you a hell of an incentive to, don't they? They bring you back to life, they rebuild the Normandy, bigger and better than ever, they got some of the old crew back, they're helping us fight a threat we've been warning the Counsel about for years and the money to fund it, and now they've got some sort of super weapon to finish the job. Seems too good to be true and in my experience, it always is."

"I still don't understand how this super weapon is supposed to help us against the Reapers. They found it in the ice on Earth so who knows how long it's been hidden there. Could it be a Prothean device? Maybe Liara would know."

"I think as long as it's in our hands and it helps us beat the Collectors and the Reapers, then I don't really care how Cerberus got it."

" _Commander, we're about to hit the relay, ETA to Earth 2 hours."_

"Thanks, Joker."

" _Commander. Joker Out."_

Shepard turned back to me "Once we load the package, I want you and Mordin with me to inspect it before we unfreeze it, we don't know what we're dealing with and I don't want any surprises."

"Noted, Shepard."

With that, the Commander turned on his heels and walked out of the Battery.

…

"Well shit. What the fuck kind of weapon is this?" Jack kicked at the glacier and sent slush skitting across the lab floor.

"Would prefer if you did not tamper with weapon. Tests need to be done. Also, ice particle distribution on floor problematic. Cause for tripping hazard, multiple scenarios with potential for dangerous outcomes."

Jack scowled at Mordin and retreated from the glacier to sit on the lab table. Mordin, though annoyed that she knocked over a stack of his data pads in the process, maintained his focus on the glacier in front of him.

"Mordin, how do you suggest we handle this?"

"Hmm… will take sample for carbon dating. Cerberus just recovered glacier, never took samples, no data to go off of… Will determine if the weapon is old enough to be Prothean or otherwise."

"Why don't we just melt the damn thing and get this over with? I know a few places that I'd love to try it on… Oh don't give me that look Cerberus Cheerleader."

Miranda ignored the insult and retorted "Uncovering the weapon before we even know what it is or what it's capable of his highly ill-advisable. It could be rigged to go off if anyone tries to recover it, in which case, you wouldn't have the chance to use it."

"Knock it off you two. We're not doing anything without learning all we can from Mordin's tests."

_Shepard, I have completed scans on the energy given off by the glacier. There are no complete matches to the type of energy given off, but it is comparable to that of radiant energy. I also used Dr. Solus' samples to determine the age of the glacier at 167 years._

"Radiant Energy? Hmm… not a common form of energy for a weapon. Used for communication, light, and heat. Age of glacier much younger than anticipated, artifact froze in Earth year 2018. Implications…"

"…implications being that it's a good thing we upgraded the Normandy's weapon systems."

"Don't know for sure. Prothean origins unlikely, but may still be useful, if not for mission then for personal curiosity."

"Alright," Shepard drew his gun, "Everyone be ready."

Jack jumped from the table, glowing a faint blue ready to throw up a biotic shield, Miranda pulled out her pistol, and I drew my rifle. Mordin stood with his omni-tool ready and the kind of grin on his face that only a Salarian on the verge of a great discovery could make. I'm not so sure if I should take the crazy Salarian's excitement as a good sign or bad.

"EDI, thaw the glacier."

_Thawing in process._

The container hissed and steam rose as the glacier melted. I kept my eyes on the crosshairs as I waited for any sign the weapon, or whatever is in that ice, might go off. The steam kept coming, blurring my vision.

"I can't get a clear shot."

"ohhhh…" a moan. Then then a thud as something hit the floor.

_Thaw complete._

"ACK! ACK!" A sharp intake of breath. The steam still obscuring the view.

"Holy shit…"

I moved forward as the steam finally started to part.

"ACK!" –wheeze- "ACK!"

A human lay on the ground at my feet, coughing up large volumes of seawater as she tried to take in air. A human, not some high tech weapon. Cerberus sure has a way to keep things interesting. "Shepard, what was that you said about surprises?"

The human girl looked up at me, her eyes watery yet piercing, looking deep into mine. It felt like she could see right through me. Like she could see my fears and dreams, my regrets and my guilt. It felt like those eyes saw me for an eternity but it was only a second before they closed and she lost consciousness.

…

_**The Girl in the Glacier** _

_Dr. Chakwas, I have noted an increase in brain activity. The patient is stable and regaining consciousness. I have notified Commander Shepard and Yeoman Chambers and they are on their way._

"Thank you, EDI."

I heard the woman who spoke move some things around and after a few minutes a loud hiss and footsteps.

"Dr. Chakwas."

"Commander, Miss Chambers."

"Any changes?"

"I've seen quite a few explosive burns in my medical career, these were no different and they've recovered very nicely. No real internal damage. However, it begs the question of what happened to this poor girl. I think we will be requiring Miss Chambers' expertise soon enough, she could wake up any minute now."

"Well we don't know that much about her. We ran DNA tests but there were no matches and that's consistent with the fact that she's been in there for 167 years since they didn't require everyone to have one on file at that time. It's also obvious that she is from a time before the First Contact War so she will have not have ever encountered aliens or extended space travel before. I suggest that you keep the privacy panels up and the door locked. I've already told Garrus and Mordin to avoid the Med Bay as much as possible. She's also gone through some sort of trauma. This is going to be a huge shock to her so we're going to have to take this slow."

Wait… Are you talking about me?

"What was that? Wait, I think she's waking up!"

"Arryu tawknn sbowt mmmeh?"

Ow, my face hurts. Actually, everything hurts. I open my eyes and see three people standing over me. One is a young woman about my age, the other is someone I recognize as being a doctor, and the other a tall, military type man.

"Wut happened?"

The red haired girl spoke, "We were hoping you could tell us."

I fought the fog in my head to try to remember. "

"There was snow, lots of snow. I'm searching for something, on a mission. And… and a voice, someone calling my name. Then hot, burning fire... an explosion! And more burning but in my throat and my eyes… then everything goes black. Now I'm here."

I look up at the strangers, I seriously doubt they'll understand. Only my friends would understand. Wait, I need to find them, they're probably worried sick!

The women look concerned but the man looks at me with… anger? I haven't even done anything! Except set off an explosion or something.

"What kind mission were you on? Are you working for Cerberus?"

This dude needs a chill-pill. "My mission is a classified investigation. And I don't know what Cerberus is, aside from mythology, but I definitely don't work for them…"

"Commander." The red-haired girl put a hand on his arm to get him to back off. Then she turned back to me. "I think what the Commander is getting at is, just who are you?"

Oh how could I forget? I introduce myself to everyone else I've encountered, why not them.

"I am the Sailor Soldier of Love and Justice. I am Sailor Moon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow plot twist, amiright? I understand some people might have been upset by it. You may be shaking your fist, "Why would you put this here and not in the crossover section?" and I hear you, I do. However, I have listed this person as an OC for a reason. That reason being that I changed Sailor Moon so much to fit the Mass Effect world that she would otherwise be unrecognizable to the Sailor Moon community except for her name and a few iconic characteristics. If I posted this under their fandom, I would be lynched. With that said, how much worse could she be from anyone else's OC's? I hope she doesn't end up being the worst you've encountered but I doubt I'm popping your cherry on this. I'm sure your mother gave you the "how do you know you don't like something if you've never tried it" speech, let's apply those teachings here. Read a chapter or two more before you decide that you hate it, what else have you got to do at this moment? If you still hate it, fine, I respect that. If you do like it, then you've made me so happy and you are a talented, beautiful, powerful musk ox.
> 
> Also as a desperate attempt to win you over, I made a deviantart page, you can find the link in my profile or just search "TheBoredIntern", to post all the doodles in my notebook of characters, scenes, and mostly jokes I plan to use in later chapters. Are they spoilers? Kind of... not really. It's just how I brainstorm ideas of how I want things to play out and maybe, just maybe you'll "LOL" and come back to me. It's just a dream of mine.
> 
> TBI
> 
> P.S. If you're still not convinced it's worth your while, you can PM me and I'll give you a synopsis of the whole story with the real plot twist. Then you can tell me what a terrible idea this whole thing was over lunch.
> 
> P.S.S. Since not everyone might know certain details of the story, I will try to post reference videos in my profile for your viewing pleasure.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Sailor Moon_ **

"So…Your name is Sailor Moon?" asked the ginger girl.

I understand her confusion, it's not like we are a highly publicized bunch of extra-terrestrial combatants. It's for the good of the general public, they don't need to know that their hearts can be snatched, their energy sapped, or their dream mirrors eaten by circus monsters. I'd be nice to be appreciated for our efforts to keep the Earth safe but that's the life of a Sailor Soldier.

"Yes, I am Sailor Moon, Champion of Love and Justice. It my job to protect the Earth with the other Sailor Soldiers of the Solar System."

"Dr. Chakwas, I think the internal damage was more severe than we thought."

"No, no, no, I'm serious! I don't have brain damage."

_Yeoman Chambers, I have done a brief extranet search for 'Sailor Moon.' In the early 21_ _st_ _century, Sailor Moon was a superhero who protected the Earth from enemies beyond their system with her friends, the Sailor Scouts._

"See!"

_Her adventures are catalogued in the fictional book series, 'The Moonlit Pegasus' by Tomoko Takasi. In the series, Sailor Moon and friends fight alongside Pegasus, the Protector of Dreams, to fight a mysterious enemy from beyond our star to save our world._

"Okay, I know it sounds weird, but it's true. We did do that. She was a friend of Jupiter and we saved her. She was kind of out of it but she must have remembered us and wrote about it."

_There are a few dozen cases between the years 2011-2017 of people being hospitalized and reporting that they were rescued by 'Sailor Moon,' 'girls in skirts,' or 'moon girl.' As well as police investigations of paranormal activities revolving around plague-like bouts of fatigue, listlessness, and loss of consciousness along with the involvement of a group of girls, one rumored to be referred to as 'moon'._

Well that makes me look shady…

After a moment of silence, the Doctor spoke. "Miss Chambers, how would you like to proceed?"

"I think that it's best if we leave her alone to rest for a while, she's clearly been through some sort of head trauma and requires more time to recover. We can discuss our course of action outside of the Med Bay."

This isn't going well, they think I'm crazy.

The Doctor approaches me, "I know this has been a confusing day for you but I think its best you get a little bit more rest. This will help you get some sleep."

She injects something into an IV… wait, how long has that been there?

"That will put her out for a few hours…"

Wait, stop! I'm telling… I'm telling… the… truth….

And everything went black again…

…

_Mercury do you read?_

_There's… a bit of… static…but I… read… The anomaly is…150 meters north… of your…position._

_Got it, I'm going in._

_The wind howls in my ears, snow clings to me as I push forward, its 40 below zero but I don't feel the cold._

_"_ _Sail…oon… You're…can't…"_

_Mercury…Mercury do you read? …tits. Well I should be close anyway._

_Just then, a dark figure emerges from the white haze._

_"_ _Sailor Moon."_

_There's a faint orange glow, then it grows. Everything glows bright orange, fire everywhere. I raise my arms to shield myself from the blast. The ice beneath me fractures, my feet slide out from under me. My head hits the ice before I slide into the water below. Salt stinging my eyes, my lungs…_

-gasp-

It was a dream! Calm down. It was just a dream, a horrible drug induced dream.

Whoever that guy was, when I find him, I'm going to turn his testicles into moon dust.

Where am I again?

I look around the room, and take note of the two doors. There are a few other empty beds beside me and a desk with a bunch of tablets on it. A paperless emergency room, I never thought it was possible! Must be a pretty new facility, everything looks so high tech.

I look down and cringe at the IV in my arm, I've had about enough of that. I grab the needle and stare intently at the letters of "Server Room" on the door at the far side of the room. As long as I have something to read and distract myself, I can handle needles. I then carefully pull the needle from my arm and shudder. This is why I could never be a doctor.

I swing my legs off the edge of the bed, and very gently lower myself onto the ground, testing my weight. Seems pretty good. I take note of the condition of my uniform. It's scorched along the hem of the skirt, a few holes burned into the torso, my shoes are nowhere to be found, the bow on my chest all but gone. My compact appears undamaged and I check the crystal for any abrasions but find none.

So we're a little worse for wear but still kicking. As they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except for polio, of course.

I make my way to the doors and but as I approach, they do not move. I assumed since there were no handles it was an automatic door. Guess not. I stare at the bright, red box on the door. Some sort of hologram, I guess. When I touch it, a blue sphere pops up on my right.

_Access not granted. Do you need me to contact Dr. Chakwas?_

"No! No ah.. thank you.. Siri."

_I am not a Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface, I am an Enhanced Defense Intelligence or EDI for short._

"Enhanced defense? Is this some kind of military base?"

_We are onboard the Normandy SR-2, a state of the art ship led by Commander Shepard._

This isn't good. I don't know much about the military, but if the X-files and comic characters like General Eiling are anything to go off of, this isn't a place for a magical girl. I've got to find a way out.

The doors obviously aren't an option, no windows… I scan the room until my eyes land on a grate above the far bed.

Looks like I'm going through the vents.

…

**_Garrus Vakarian_ **

Shepard and I have seen some surprising things together. We've seen a rachni queen, talked to her even. We've seen a Thorian that spit out an Asari commando and then send her clones after us and controlled the minds of an entire colony which also attacked us. We've seen the ruins of the Protheans and a functioning Prothean VI. We've seen and defeated Sovereign. Even after seeing all of those surprises, none of them caught us more off guard than this girl.

It might have been because of our disappointment that there was no weapon to fight the Collectors with. Even though the new Normandy is even better and now has the new Thanix cannons, with myself to calibrate them, I think we were all hoping for something more… substantial. Especially since the Collector ship was able to slice through the old Normandy like butter.

It also could have been that despite that disappointment, the whole situation was quite humorous. Not for the girl, spirits, what happened to her was a shame. What _is_ funny is that the Illusive Man, the man who seems to have all the answers, the man who thinks he's so damn clever, looks like an idiot. The man used, Spirits knows how many credits, to find this… this weapon to fight the Reapers and it ends up being some poor girl. A girl with a lot of confusion from what I hear.

After we recovered her from the ice, Jacob took the initiative to carry her to the Med Bay. The rest of us just stood there, stunned. We looked to Shepard but he just stared at the floor where the girl lay moments before, trying to make sense of what just happened. After a while he called to EDI and asked her to send the Yeoman to the Med Bay and dismissed the rest of us.

Now here I am, back in the Main Battery trying to calibrate this damn gun. It should have been finished hours ago but I keep getting distracted. My mind seems to keep falling back to those eyes. Bright eyes, green like the grasses on the Presidium but with flecks of gold near the center. I've never seen a human with eyes like that before…

-THUNK THUNK-

"Oh titsss…" –gasp-

-THUD-

Spirits. What was… it's _her_. How did she…?

She lay sprawled out on the floor, a mess of white hair and scorched clothes. Then slowly, she rises as she rubs her head where she bumped it. I turn my focus up and see the vent grate squeaking as it swayed, hanging from a single screw. Ah… it's coming together now.

"A bit early to be making escape attempts. I know Chakwas can be overzealous when she has a new patient but it can't be _that_ bad."

She looks up at me, still massaging the tender spot, her eyebrows scrunched in the human expression of confusion. Then the Yeoman's words from earlier come back to me.

"Spirits, ah… I'm sorry, I know this might be ah… new for you. I ah… come in peace."

She just stares, uncomprehendingly. That Yeoman is going to have a fit when she finds out.

"I hear you. Well, I know you're saying something but I just don't know what it is."

What is that supposed to… Right, she doesn't have a translator.

"So what do they call you?"

Not to brag but I've learned a little bit of the English language from working with humans in C-Sec. "Garrus."

"Uh… 'gargle noise'?"

I guess I'm not as good as I thought…

"Alright, Bonnie. I'm going to call you Bonnie, Bonnie Blue, hope you don't mind. Well, I apologize for crashing in on you and your work and it's been lovely chatting with you but I really should be going."

She rose to her feet, she was taller than I thought she would be.

"I think it would be best if we kept this exchange between us, you know? We don't have to tell anyone I was here, okay? Okay! Well… bye!"

And in the blink of an eye she was back in the vent. I turned back to my terminal, the image of those green eyes and the wild, white hair that framed them in the back of my mind.

I pull up a communications line with the CIC.

"Shepard… she's loose."


	3. Chapter 3

**_Miranda Lawson_ **

"How did this happen? I do _not_ have time for their excuses."

This was supposed to be the best crew Cerberus had to offer… yet I'm still surrounded by morons.

I was heading towards the elevator to return to my quarters after debriefing with the Illusive Man on the unfortunate events of the day when I overheard the Turian talking to Shepard.

_"_ _Shepard… she's loose."_

"What do you mean 'she's loose'?"

 _"_ _Well ah, she_ dropped _by and we chatted for a bit… then she climbed back through the vent she came in by."_

"Did you try to stop her?"

 _"_ _Hmm… no actually. I was told very specifically by the Yeoman not to interact with her because of the anxiety it might cause her. She seemed fine. No one's asked me how_ I'm _doing though. It's_ very _unsettling to have a crazy person fall from the ceiling while you're optimizing firing algorithms. I'm still shaking."_

Does he think this is some sort of _joke_? The Illusive Man should have let me put the control chip in Shepard. I could do without Shepard's decision to add "Archangel" and his dry humor to the crew.

"EDI, find out where in the vents the girl is, now!"

_I am conducting thermal scans of all ventilation units... …Officer Lawson, I cannot find any thermal readings on her location within the ventilation system._

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean? Don't you have any cameras in there or something we can find her with?"

Jesus this day keeps getting better and better. I did not spend the last two years of my career rebuilding the great Commander Shepard for him to lead us in the biggest fight humanity has to face only to have us be too late because we were too busy trying to scare a mouse out of the vents. It's just one thing after another with this girl. She's made Cerberus look like fools. It's because of her I had to go and tell the Illusive Man that one of his investments that he was so sure would help us fight the Reapers was actually some delusional twit in a mini-skirt. Not a conversation I ever thought I'd have to have with him. _And then_ even after all that the Illusive Man still said to wait and see how it all plays out. I don't know why he still cares, even though he's probably spent millions of credits on whoever his resource was, this whole thing… it cannot be salvaged. I mean even as a resource as a person she wouldn't be helpful. She's obviously not very bright since she wore such an atrocious outfit in the arctic. Too bad we didn't stay around Earth long enough to toss her back into the ocean. If I had the control chip I'd have Shepard space her the moment we find her.

"Joker, how far out are we from the Citadel?"

_"_ _About half an hour Commander."_

"Attention crew,"

Finally, he's doing something.

"I need everyone on high alert, we're a half hour outside the Citadel and we have an unstable detainee hiding in the ventilation system. No one is leaving this ship until we find her. I need you all to keep a careful eye out for any unusual activity. If you find her, no harm is to be done, just…"

"Shepard, is this the girl you are looking for?"

And there she was with the Salarian scientist. I can hardly stand the sight of her.

"Mordin, how did you find her?"

"Was conducting further testing on glacier remains. Looking for possible clues on origin of explosion. Was singing while working, makes work more enjoyable. 'Krogan Queen' personal favorite. She heard from the ventilation and came out. Can't understand language without translator but could tell it was singing."

The Professor looked quite smug about his cross-language singing abilities, not that I would actually call it singing.

I've had enough of all this joking around.

"Do you realize the expense we've gone through to procure you from that block of ice? And this is how you choose to repay us?"

The bitch had the nerve to look me dead in the eye, unashamed, when she spoke.

"Thank you for rescuing me but I don't see why you needed to go to such extremes to find me in the first place. What am I to you? Aside from a joke."

I would have thrown her across the room with my biotics if Shepard hadn't stepped in.

"We thought that the energy signals from the ice were from some kind of weapon left by the Protheans but once we got it on the ship and tested it, we found out it was only 167 years old, not 50,000."

"First off, I'm a _person_ not a _weapon_ , I have feelings. Secondly… Wait, what? Protheans…?"

I almost felt sorry for her as I watched her face when Shepard's words started to sink in.

"…167 years? That can't be right. Was I?… how long… But I… 167…"

"I know this is a lot for you to take in…" Ah, here comes the Psychologist to the rescue. "…none of this is your fault, things just happen."

What does she mean "it's not your fault"? Its bloody well _all_ her fault!

"What was the last date you remember?"

"It was May 2, 2018. I was supposed to go home for my dad's birthday the next day…" I will _not_ sympathize with her. I will _not_ let my father issues cloud my judgement of her.

"…can you tell me what year it is now?"

"Well we chart time differently now, after being exposed to extended space travel and alien cultures, but on Earth the year is 2185."

"Does America still exist?"

What the hell kind of question is that?

"Um… Well it has combined with what was formerly known as Canada. It is now the United States of North America."

"But we weren't nuked or anything, like Yeezus 2020 never happened, right?"

"…I'm sorry, I'm confused. I don't know what that is."

" _Thank_ God. I was worried for a while. He was a rapper who said he would run for President, an overall terrible career choice, but there were a lot of impressionable young people in my time that I worried would actually vote for him if it came to pass." She brings a hand to her chest and sighs with relief. "Wow, I mean… _that_ is a load off my chest."

Is no one else hearing this? Am I the only one who thinks this is utter nonsense? I have to step in.

"You've been in stasis for 167 years and your first thought is that an entertainer became President? Are you _actually_ mental?"

"I am actually _very_ much aware of the severity of the situation however, if I think about it right now, I'm afraid I might have a breakdown in front of a bunch of strangers who already think I'm crazy. I just don't want to fuel your fires."

Too late for that.

"Miranda, back off, I'm taking her with me on the Citadel. I'm supposed to meet Anderson there anyway and maybe he will know what to do with her."

Shepard's right. Anderson will know how to handle this. I bet he can set her up with lovely career at Chora's Den. Or at least, a girl can dream.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Sailor Moon_ **

"What's the Citadel you're taking me to?"

 _The Citadel is a space station in the Serpent Nebula and the capital of the Citadel Council_.

This EDI makes me feel like Jupiter when she got that new Samsung phone, walking around shouting "OKAY GOOGLE!"

…Jupiter… _don't_ think about it! _Don't_ think about the 167 years.

I walk with the military man, the one they call Commander Shepard, down the hall. Further down I see the helmsman of the ship but before we reach him, we turn left to a pair of doors.

"So the Council is like the government for all the different aliens? Why are we going there?"

"We were planning on coming here to pick up supplies before the Illusive Man rerouted us to Earth. I have a meeting with Councilor Anderson and I'm taking you with me. He's a friend of mine and can help us find a way to help you adjust to… this time."

So he's just going to dump me on some random space station? Is he being serious right now? I was about to argue with him when one of the aliens I met earlier, came up to us. Well, well, well… if it isn't Bonnie Blue, here to help escort me to exile.

He looks to the Commander, "Hissherr, srtch hhhsss click chushhh seeee click skritchh."

"I know it's been a long day Garrus, but I want you to come with me to see Anderson. We need to notify the Council about the Collectors and deal with her."

Bonnie looks at me, "Skee hissk sec seee clik?"

"I don't know. She was with Mordin earlier and didn't seem put off by it then either."

Mordin. That was the nice scientist I was just with. While I was wandering the vents trying to find a way out, I heard singing. I couldn't recognize the language but I could just tell it was his _jam_. I mean he was going at it the way I usually go at Taylor Swift songs. Loud and proud.

I thought he would be too distracted to hear me climb down but he turned around quicker than a snake and caught me before I set foot on the ground.

"Uh… Hi. …I like your singing." I said.

He smiled but said nothing. I thought it was because he couldn't understand me but after a few moments he held out his arm and tapped at his wrist. His arm lit up orange with a small screen over the wrist. His fingers ghosted over the translucent screen, then held out his arm for me to see. He had written out a message for me.

_Thank you. 'Krogan Queen' personal favorite. Have to communicate with text since you do not have verbal translator. Will make one. Name Mordin Solus. Called Mordin. Salarian scientist. Name?_

"Oh! I see. Uh thanks… well my name is Sailor Moon. …Called Sailor Moon, uh Sailor Soldier."

Mordin gave me a once over and his gaze fell upon my brooch. Then he nodded his head and made a knowing smile before typing another message.

_Look forward to working with you, Sailor Moon._

It was after I read the message that the Commander came on over the loudspeaker and then Mordin led me to the command center.

"Hey, girl, are you listening?

The Commander's voice brought me back to the present.

"My _name_ is Sailor Moon." This is starting to get annoying.

"Listen to me, I need you to stick close. The Citadel can be crowded and I don't have time to go looking for you if you get lost. Do you understand? Don't talk to anybody, don't look at anybody, just stay on my six and this will all be over soon."

"Aye, aye, sir."

The Commander pressed the holographic green screen on the door and they opened with a hiss.

Nothing could have prepared me for what was behind those doors.

I'm no stranger to extra-terrestrial life but I've never seen so many before, in the sense of numbers and in diversity! There were giant pink jellyfish with legs for days. There were guys that looked like Bonnie Blue except for their different markings on their faces. There were a few Mordins… no wait, I know this. Salamand…Sala… Salarians…SALARIANS, that's it! There were Salarians and also these big dudes, they almost look like turtles except, you know, like 500 pounds and 6 feet tall. And of course there were humans.

A lot sure has changed for humanity in the time I've been out. We hadn't even set foot on Mars yet and now look at us! When I saw the movie, The Martian, I thought that was pretty cool, living on Mars helping set the standard of survival on other planets. Now here I stand, on a far off space station, no NASA suit required, just _chillin_ ' with a bunch of different species of life next to a _hover_ car lot. And here I thought the only hover I was ever going to ride in my life was a Hover-Round.

We came up to a security door with another Bonnie standing behind a control panel and a blue light scans over us.

"Shut it down…. What? Do you seriously think… yeah, okay. Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. Our scanners are picking up false readings. They seem to think you're, ah, dead."

It seems the Commander and I have something in common.

"I was listed as missing in action a couple of years ago."

"Would you mind checking in with my Captain? He can reinstate you in our system. He's just past the scanners on your right."

The security guard gave me a curious glance as we passed. I guess I had forgotten that I still have a scorched uniform and I don't even _want_ to know what my hair looks like. It's bad enough I've prematurely grayed at this age.

We approach the Captain sitting at his desk.

"Yes?... I see the problem already, Commander Shepard. My console says you're dead."

"Your Sergeant said you could help with that."

"Usually you'd have to go through the Station Security Administration to reactivate your IDs. Then to customs and Immigration to regain access to the Citadel itself. And probably stop by the treasury. 'Spending a year dead' is a popular tax dodge… But I can see you're a busy man. So how about I just press this button right here and we call it done."

"I'd appreciate that."

"There. I just saved you about nine days of running around. That said, you should head up to the Presidium and tell them you're still alive. The Council probably wants to talk to the one who saved their scaly asses."

"I will. Having access to the Council and the Spectres' resources would be useful."

"Yeah, the Council can get anything." The Captain sees me from behind the Commander. "Who's the girl? …What the hell happened to you?"

"It's classified." He replies harshly.

The Commander turns and quickly walks away, Bonnie and I scurrying behind him leaving behind a very confused Captain Bailey.

…

**_Garrus Vakarian_ **

That might have been the most awkward sky-car ride of my life. I usually enjoy those awkward silences, like the ones in elevators, I thrive on it. It's an opportunity to force others into an even _more_ awkward conversation about their people's history. But since Shepard stormed off after talking with Captain Bailey, it was clear he was not in the mood for small talk. So we sat in silence. All the way from the Zakera Ward to the Presidium.

When we got there, the now Councilor Anderson, was speaking with the other members of the Council.

"Shepard will be here any… oh, Commander. We were just talking about you."

"It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple years have treated you right."

"There have been some rough spots. It's good to have you back."

"Shepard," the Salarian Council interrupted "We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are…unsettling."

The Asari Council stepped in next, "We called this meeting so you could explain your actions, Shepard."

"The Collectors are abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems. Worse, we think they're working for the Reapers."

"The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction! Your colonists knew this when they left Council Space."

"You're missing the important part, Councilor. The Reapers are involved." Said Anderson.

"We've already dismissed the Reapers as myth. However to deal with the Collectors, we're willing to reinstate your Spectre status but only if you agree to stay within the Terminus Systems and keep your relationship Cerberus discreet."

"I accept your offer. It's good to have the Council on my side."

"Good luck, Shepard."

The Council then signed off, leaving us alone with Councilor Anderson.

"Do you think they're going to help?"

"It's unlikely. Your reinstatement is really just for show. They don't want to acknowledge the threat you and I know is out there. Knowing the truth about Sovereign is brutal. It's nightmare stuff. Can't blame the others for not wanting to believe it. But I know how important it is, so I keep trying to fight the good fight, right?

"I've got another issue I need taken care of. The Illusive Man sent us to Earth to find a weapon to fight the Reapers with but it turns out all we found was her." Shepard gestures to the girl.

"I was wondering about her. What happened? If she's not what you were looking for, why bring her along?

"They thought the weapon was in a block of ice but when we melted that ice, she was inside… for 167 years."

"Jesus. Nothing is ever simple with you is it? 167 years?"

"She say's her name is 'Sailor Moon, _protector_ of Earth' but there is no conclusive data on her existence. One search pulled up a fictional book about a Pegasus. Do you get where I'm going with this?"

Anderson lowered his voice, "Sounds like some sort of PTSD, I've seen a lot of soldiers lose their minds over the years. I can imagine being on ice for over a century and a half can do the same. What do you need from me?"

"I was hoping you could find her someone, maybe there's a specialist at Huerta or through the Alliance…"

"Please don't." The words were almost a whisper, she had been so quiet this whole time. I almost forgot she was here. "Please… don't send me away, I… I can help you. It's my job to protect the Earth and its people. If these Collectors and Reapers are attacking humans, the colonies, then they're a threat to Earth! I have to do this. _Please_." She grabbed onto Shepard's arm as if it was life itself. "My friends… I left them to fight alone without me… and now they're dead. I have to make it up to them. I have to make things right. Please."

Shepard shook her of his arm, "We can't take you with us. We have a mission, a _suicide_ mission. And you _need_ help, I can't have Kelly babysitting you the whole time. I'm sorry." Then he turned to walk away.

"I..am.. _NOT_ …CRAZY." and as an absolute contradiction of her words, she swung her fist out, there was a sudden flash of blue, and a hard crunch sound as it connected with Shepard's jaw.

The punch was so unexpected that it had caught Shepard completely off-guard and knocked him onto the ground. This girl has bigger quads than any Krogan I've ever known.

"I _saved_ the Earth from Queen Beryl," she stood there, her right fist encased in ice, shaking with frustration, while a cold wind swept through the room. "I _saved_ the Earth from the Dark Moon Clan, I _saved_ the Earth from Pharoh 90. I _saved_ the Earth from the Dark Moon Circus and Queen Nehlania _twice_!"

Snow? Snow began to drift around the room as it keeps getting colder by the second. "I _saved_ the Galaxy from Sailor Galaxia, I _saved_ Galaxia from Chaos!

Faster and faster the snow kept coming, swirling around us, trapping us inside a vortex. "I _saved_ the other Sailor's Star Seeds! I saved _everything_ with my _friends_. _Everything_. Now they're _gone._ They're gone and my family is _gone_. I have _nothing_ and you treat me like I'm some sort of a lunatic! I want to fight, I _need_ to fight!" The floor crackles as it freezes beneath her feet. The Councilor watches the girl, wide-eyed, as she and the ice storm inside of his office rage on. "I am Sailor- _fucking_ -Moon."

"Garrus," I hear Shepard call and I instinctively reach for my rifle.

He pulls out his pistol and points it at her. He has to yell to be heard over the howl of the wind. "Stop this! You need to calm down _now_."

As if a light switch were turned off, the wind and snow stops all at once, flakes suspended in mid-air. She stares him down, challenging him, daring him to shoot. When he doesn't move, a long leg sweeps out, I've never seen flexibility and reach like that before, and the sound of his gun skitting across the freezing ground is heard before she turns her glare to me. The burning heat of her green eyes on me is lost a moment later as she flicks her wrist in my direction and I'm assaulted with a blast of icy cold air. I try to recover but when I go to pull my rifle up, my arm doesn't move. I look down and find my armor covered in ice. Crap.

She turns back to Shepard, holding her arms out in front with the side of her fists touching, then slowly pulls them apart. As she does this, ice forms between her fingers, being shaped and molded into a blade as she pulls her arms further apart. With her left hand, she swipes around the right to form a hilt, the facets in the ice making the sword look as if it were made of jewels. The whole process taking little more than a moment from start to finish.

In a single fluid movement, she brings the blade to Shepard's neck. "I can handle myself, Shepard. I want to go on the mission."

Shepard looked to me, trying to gauge my thoughts. Sailor Moon just took out the two of us in a matter of seconds. Granted, she had the element of surprise with the ice, but it was still impressive. She might not actually be crazy either and even if she were, how much worse could she be than the "Psychotic Biotic" escaped from prison? Hell, I'm probably not that sane either, the way my life has been these past few years.

"Hm, It's a suicide mission. It's not like we have a line of volunteers to follow us into hell. Just promise me that there won't be any more snow directed at me. Turians don't like the cold."

"Noted. Alright, you can join us… Sailor Moon."

She lowered her blade, "Really?"

"We can use all the help we can. What you did took guts and impressed me. If you really did all of those things you said, then I think you would benefit the team."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Great. Now that that issue is resolved, could someone ah, help me out here?"

"Sailor Moon?"

"What?" she looked back and forth between Shepard and I, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. I jerked my head down to draw her attention to my predicament.

"…Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't understand."

We're going to have to get this girl a translator if this is going to work out.

She approached and with gentle hands, brushed the ice away. When she was finished, I flexed my fingers and arms, trying to create more circulation to warm them.

"I guess this means I won't be needing your help anymore, Anderson."

"I figured as much. I just wish your visits were less eventful."

As Shepard and the Councilor exchanged farewells, I looked back at Sailor Moon and thought about the turn of events. It's just been one surprise after another with her and it has me thinking. Maybe she is telling the truth, maybe there's more to this girl than what we see.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Miranda Lawson_ **

_Officer Lawson, Shepard has returned onboard the Normandy._

Perfect timing, thank you, EDI.

I push myself away from the desk and stretch. Now that the reports are complete and the girl is gone, we can put this whole thing behind us.

“EDI, page Shepard, I want to discuss the next dossier with him.”

_Shepard is unavailable at this time. He is in the debriefing room with the Illusive Man._

I suppose this could wait a little while longer. In the mean time, I should eat something. It’s been such a long day that I don’t remember eating anything at all.

As I walk into the Mess Hall, I see a few of the crewmembers sitting down and talking. I pass by them to head to the kitchen.

“I can’t believe she’s staying with us. I thought she was mental?”

“I heard she has some new kind of biotics.”

“Another psychotic biotic? He’s going to get us killed.”

“I trust Shepard’s judgement. We’re going up against the _Collectors_ , they have the power to unarm and take _entire_ colonies! He probably figures we should take all the help we can get.”

Wait a moment… who are they talking about? It’s not… it can’t be.

“Excuse me, who are you talking about?”

They stand at attention.

“Officer Lawson… Uh, we were talking about that girl we found earlier. Turns out Shepard recruited her for the mission after they had some argument on the Citadel.”

“He did _WHAT_?”

“Yeah, she told Shepard she wanted to help, now he’s informing the Illusive Man and she’s making herself at home.”

My life has become a sick joke.

“Where is she now?”

“Chambers was helping her set up shop in Port Observatory.”

And with that, my appetite was gone but it looks like I need to make a housewarming visit.

When I get to the hallway, I nearly slip but I catch myself.

“Look out! Watch your step!”

I look down to see a trail of ice leading from the crew quarters to port observatory. _How did this even happen?_ Then I look at the person who spoke.

Its _her_. So it’s true, they didn’t dump her at a strip club where all burnouts belong. She’s standing beside Chambers pushing one of the beds down the hall.

“Officer Lawson.”

“Are you alright? I’m sorry, we were just trying to move this to my quarters.”

“How did you get ice on the floor?”

“She did it, it’s amazing! She just flicks her hand and there it is! It’s… It’s _magical_! I can’t believe we almost left her on the Citadel.”

I can’t believe we didn’t. I see she’s making friends with the xenophiliac, ironic how she was the one who diagnosed her as crazy in the first place.

“So you shoot ice from your fingers, I don’t see how that’s impressive. You’re probably who put yourself in that glacier. We don’t need you. I don’t care about your _abilities_. We have a mission and a stack of dossiers of experienced professionals to pick from. What we need are powerful biotics, mercenaries, assassins, justicars, and most importantly, we need Commander Shepard. You are a distraction. An unnecessary one, and if you become too big of one for Shepard… Well, he may not have the heart to toss you out the airlock, but I do.”

“Miranda, back off, she’s just trying to help. She hasn’t done anything wrong. ”

“No, I suppose she hasn’t… yet.” But I’ll be keeping an eye out for when you do.

…

**_Sailor Moon_ **

I didn’t mean for things to escalate that quickly in Anderson’s office but they forced my hand. A person can only be pushed so much before they have to push back. I _know_ my story seems far-fetched, I know my rough appearance makes me look like one of the Sanderson Sisters on Hocus Pocus. And I know that also doesn’t help my case, but I say what I mean, and I mean what I say. That’s what I _communicated_ to Shepard’s face… with my fist…

Really I’m just lucky I used my ice gauntlet. My dad always told me to never throw punches. Not because I’m a _lady_ but for whatever reason I’m incapable of making a _proper_ fist, “you’ll break your fingers” he said. “I’ll use protection” I said. _Ha ha, “protection_ ”. But as hard as my gauntlet is, Shepard’s jaw is just about as hard. Fortunately, the ice will help with the swelling.

When we had got back on the ship, Shepard directed me to the red-haired girl named Kelly and he instructed her to help me settle in on the ship. I was a little hesitant since, this is the girl who spread the rumor that I was _crazy_ but sometimes, you just have to forgive. And sometimes when you do, you make friends.

Kelly, as it turns out, is a very nice person. When we rode the elevator to the crew deck, we had a lot of time to talk. I mean, that thing is ridiculously slow, I should have crawled down through the vents again it would have been faster.

“I’m sorry about all the confusion from earlier, I didn’t mean for everything to get out of hand.”

“It’s okay, I know I’m a lot to take in and that you were just trying to do your job plus I’m some unknown person. A liability. You have people to protect.”

“I’m glad you understand. How about we start over, we are going to be spending a lot of time together.”

“I’d like that.”

“Good! Well I’m sure we can find you a suitable place to stay, no one uses the observation decks very much and since there are two, I don’t see why you can’t use one. We can move a bed from the main crew quarters and I can put in a requisition order for anything else you might need.”

“Thank you, I appreciate your help, Kelly.”

When we got to the crew deck, we went and checked out the port observatory. It was a moderately sized room with a large window looking out to _space_ and empty except for a funky, “future” couch and a few bookshelves. It seems good enough to me.

Moving a bed down the hall proved to be the real challenge. It was just like I was back in my sophomore year of college, living the dorm life. The beds were all arranged as bunks but were adjustable like dorm room beds. They were also a pain in the ass to do so, just like dorm room beds.

Kelly and I wrestled at opposite ends trying to lift, drop, pull, and push the bunks apart. Two other crew members who were in the room even helped us and we still struggled. Eventually though, teamwork made the dream work and we had ourselves a single bed.

The crew members also offered to help us move the bed to the other room but I declined. I worked as a custodian in a school for a couple of summers, excellent pay, and we would clean all the desk, chairs, bookshelves… everything in the rooms, move them out, wax the floors, then move them back in. As a result, I learned a thing or two about moving furniture so now I consider myself a modern MacGyver.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“Relax, you fella’s don’t have anything to worry about, I’m a professional.”

I eyed the path from the crew quarters to my new room, coast is clear.

“Are you ready?” I said to Kelly.

I plant my foot down and push my arms out. Snow spirals around and ice crackles along the floor down the hallway, creating a frozen path to the doors of the observatory. A frictionless surface, perfect for sliding beds.

I turn back to Kelly and she’s staring wide-eyed at my handiwork.

“How… How did you do that? That is… _amazing_!”

“All part of being a Sailor Soldier. Ain’t nuthin but a thang.” I shrug.

We push the bed onto the ice with a little bit effort and then from there, it just glides across the ice with ease.

As we make our way down the hall, I saw someone take a step and almost fall on the ice. I called out to them and it ended up being Officer Lawson. We had a not so pleasant conversation… I get the feeling she doesn’t like me.

Once we got the bed in my new quarters, Kelly said she had to return to the Command Center and if I needed anything, just ask EDI and then she left. Once she was gone, I was left to think about what to do, then it dawned on me. I haven’t bathed in 167 years… No wonder they all wanted me off their ship.

I make my way to the women’s locker room and check to make sure I’m alone. When I’m sure there’s no one there, I un-transform. My scorched uniform turns to gently glowing golden ribbons that wrap around my body and come to the brooch at my heart center. The ribbons retract into the brooch and I’m left with my civilian clothes from the day I was frozen in the glacier. These clothes are now my only possessions in the world… er correction, galaxy. I’m wearing my brown leather riding boots (very practical) with leggings (they could go with anything really) and my green dress with pockets. Pockets! I rifle through my pockets to see if I inadvertently saved anything else for the future. There _is_ a God. The proof is in my hand… my glasses! Or as my mom called them, cheaters. It’s not much but it’s more than I thought I had so I can’t complain.

The shower was a transcendent experience let me tell you. I may not have been able to tell I was in the ice for over a century and a half but my body sure did. The warm spray soothed and relaxed my tense muscles, melting away the frigid stiffness they had to endure for so long. When I was finished, I went to go brush my hair but as I stood there in front of the mirror I realized I had no brush. So to the owner of the purple brush, I’m sorry… I used it. These are desperate times.

When my wet hair was brushed, I ran my fingers through it, feeling beads of water trail after them as they moved. The beads collected and crystalized as they flowed past the ends of my hair, following the movement of my hand. Then with a flourish of my wrist, the icicles clattered in the sink. I inspect my reflection in the mirror, pleased with the way that my now dry hair, made soft waves past my shoulders.

_Sailor Moon, Shepard has ordered a debriefing meeting in 5 minutes._

“Thank you… EDI. I’ll head up in a second.”

I dress in my civilian clothes and put on my glasses. I give myself one last inspection in the mirror before deciding this is as good as its going to get and head to the elevator.

…


	6. Chapter 6

**_Garrus Vakarian_ **

I arrive at the debriefing room to find Shepard with Mordin.

“Garrus, was just telling Shepard about new translator for new crew member. Heard about communication issues with you. Should not be a problem anymore.”

“Hmm, looks like I won’t have an excuse when I make bad jokes now.”

The next to arrive is Jacob and a clearly agitated Miranda, I see she’s already heard the news. Then came Jack with all her tattoos, accompanied by my headache as always. We all took our place around the conference table.

“So what the hell did I have to come up here for?”

My head throbs. Ah Jack, so eloquent and couth as ever.  

“Sorry I’m late! Somebody needs to do something about that elevator.”

We all turn as she enters. Hold on, that’s not Sailor Moon… why doesn’t _anyone_ tell me these things? When did we get _another_ human girl?

“Who are you and how the _hell_ did you get on my ship?” Demanded Shepard.

The girl in the unusual sentry interface looked confused. “What? What do you mean ‘who are you’…Oh, I see what’s happened. Okay, just relax, It’s me… Sailor Moon, except I’m in my civilian form.” She gestures towards her strange garments.

“Civilian form? You don’t even look like her.”

“Well first off, I took a shower so that might have played a role in this, I was pretty gross. However, the real reason you don’t recognize me is because I untransformed. I don’t know how it works but when I change into Sailor Moon there’s like this …illusion so people don’t recognize me. Like a secret identity. I even have glasses like Clark Kent, but that’s just a coincidence.”

“I’ve spent the whole day with Sailor Moon, I think I’d still be able to recognize her even if she changed her clothes.”

“My own _mother_ didn’t even recognize me when I saved her from a dream eater.” She sighs. “Look, I’m not going to transform for you right here, you’re just going to have to take my word for it, okay? I’m Sailor Moon, but when I’m not fighting I’m just me, Lucy. Well, Lucina but I go by Lucy.”

After everything that’s happened today I don’t think it’s worth arguing about anymore. Shepard seems to have the same idea.

“Alright, I don’t want to argue about this anymore. You’re the reason I called us here anyway. Everyone on this ship has records. Records of their skills, their experience, their psychological profile… Kelly will be taking care of the latter but we need EDI to have something to reference for the mission. Everyone plays a role on the ship when we’re not on a mission so we will need to find a job for you based on your skills. I also wanted to have the rest of the crew get to know you. When we’re out in the field, we need to work as a team and to do that, we need to get to know each other.”

“Shepard,” began Mordin “need to distribute translator. Communication necessary for teamwork.”

Shepard nods and Mordin hands Sailor Moon the translator, then shows her where to place it and how to turn it on.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes! Thank you!” She smiles warmly at him and he returns it before returning to his place around the table.

“Miranda, would you like to begin the questioning? You are the one in charge of the dossiers.”

She grimaces, clearly displeased with the chore.

“Of course, Shepard.” She turns to Sailor Moon “We are going to need your full name.”

“Lucia Anne Cynzia, but as I said, I go by Lucy.”

“Where are you from and what kind of education did you have?”

“I’m from Cleveland Ohio um, I had your standard public school education. I went to Youngstown State for my undergraduate degree in Kinesiology and I was about halfway through the Medical Illustration master’s program at UIC… Oh tits” Her eyebrows knitted as she thought about something. “I just realized, everything I learned is probably out of date now… all those student loans for nothing. Oh jeez, now I’m kind of glad my parents are dead, they’d be _pissed_.”

Probably about as pissed as my father would have been if I became a Specte.

“Can we focus please? Medical illustration?”

“Yeah, it’s like all the diagrams and pictures in books, research studies… or videos for infomercials or educational DVD’s. I studied kinesiology because I wanted to work in healthcare, and I did, I worked at a hospital in cardiopulmonary rehab. My real passion though was painting and drawing so I went into medical illustration so I could do both.”

“Ha, hmm, I always wanted to learn how to paint, now I mostly paint walls with blood.”

She looked back at me eyes-wide and eyebrows high, “Bonnie, is that your _voice_?”

“Ah, is there something wrong with it?”

“No, no… it’s just… I like it.” Her face flushed as she turned her eyes downcast “uh…nevermind. Forget I said anything, I have an issue with filtering what I say.”

“ _Ahem_ ” Miranda cleared her throat, “Can we proceed? What kind of skills do you have that could help us?”

“Right, well I can do hand-to-hand combat, I also have cryokinetic abilities. As a person of science, I tried to figure out how it works, the parts that seem to come out of thin air, and the best I could come up with is that I can freeze the oxygen and hydrogen molecules in the air, since you know, that’s water. So I guess there could be a small degree of hydrokinesis in there too. That’s how I can mold the ice into whatever shape I want. Swords, bows, …model hearts for studying anatomy.”

“So you’re proficient in those weapons? Where did you learn how to use them?”

“The same way everyone else learns how to do something. Google it and watch a YouTube video on it. I would also like to give credit to _Game of Thrones_ for my swordsmanship. I used to pretend to be Arya Stark by standing in a tree and taking swings at branches while whispering ‘Joffrey, The Hound, Raff the Sweetling, The Tickler…’ Then one day, me and a friend saw a bunch of kids L.A.R.P.ing and I thought, ‘this is my chance to show off my _Water-dancer_ fighting’ so I grabbed one of their fake swords and turned to a kid and said ‘ _Valar Morghulis_.’ Then he told me just because they did this, doesn’t mean they like _Game of Thrones_. I was crushed.”

“HA nerd!” Jack was bent over laughing.

“Exactly.” Lucy chuckled.

Miranda was not as amused as they were.

“Do you take anything seriously? Ever? You’d think for someone who lost _everything_ , you would be a little more upset. You don’t even seemed depressed, you’re just making jokes of everything!”

“Wow, you’re right. Maybe you should have told that to Robin Williams.”

Miranda sat there quietly fuming… If she can make her shut up like that, I think I could start to like this girl.

“Alright, I think we’ve got enough info to go off of for now. We’ll let you know if we need anything else. In the meantime, I think that with your experience, you would be best assisting Dr. Chakwas in the Med Bay. Miranda, who’s our next dossier?”

“The next dossier is the Krogan warlord Okeer on Korlus. He’s been trying to cure the genophage and we believe he has been in contact with the Collectors to obtain the technology to do so.”

“You heard her everyone. We’ll need to be ready for tomorrow. I want everyone back to their quarters to get some rest. Dismissed.”

Everyone rose to file out the conference room except for Miranda who had cornered Shepard, it look’s like he’s in for a real treat. The last thing I hear before the doors hiss shut is Miranda as she growls at Shepard, “This isn’t over.”


	7. Chapter 7

**_Sailor Moon/ Lucy_ **

Shepard had taken Bonnie and Jacob with him to find the Warlord early this morning. They made their way out the CIC with grim determination on their faces, armed to the teeth with massive guns. I learned shortly after from Mordin that Shepard usually only takes two people with him on missions. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get picked, not that I was expecting to but it’s a natural reaction. Like being picked last for teams in gym class childish as it sounds. It’s for the best anyway, I didn’t exactly get the best night’s sleep.

Once I was alone in my quarters, the gravity of the situation fully hit me and with no one around to see it’s effect, I just let go. I cried long and hard, heavy tears streamed down my face as the faces of my mom, my dad, everyone in my family flashed through my mind. I cried when the tears ran dry and the images of my friends blurred behind my sore, aching eyes. I screamed into my pillow to muffle the sounds. Why? Why did this happen? Why did this happen to me, this isn’t _fair_! Eventually my frustration ebbed to fatigue, my physical fit of anger and fear turned to projections in my dreams.

When I woke up, I found myself looking out a massive window to a dark sky full of stars. I thought I had just woken up from night terrors again, I had already done it a few times, but it turned out the darkness was a full time reality. I’m in _space_. Alone in the massive void of darkness.

I got out of bed, my limbs felt as if they were made of stone, stiff and heavy. I stared the tiles on the floor for what seems like hours, trying not to be crushed by the debilitating despair threatening to consume me.

“I won’t think about it now, I’ll think about it tomorrow, when I can stand it.” I whisper the words of Scarlett O’Hara. A memory of a time, now long ago, of a tradition my mother and I had. Of when we would watch Gone With the Wind on TV the day before Thanksgiving, quoting it as my dad grumbled over not being able to watch some football game.

The scene where Scarlett comes home from Atlanta comes to mind. “Mother… Mother?” She calls frantically. Then she goes into the room where her mother lay dead, killed by typhoid fever, and screams, sobbing over the corpse. The pale face of Ellen O’Hara turned into that of my own mother.

“ _No_. I won’t think about that now… I’ll think about it tomorrow.” I repeat, strengthening my resolve. The weight on my body seems to lessen a little.

You can _do_ this Lucy, you _will_ get through this. Even in the darkest night, the stars still shine, sometimes we just don’t see them because the clouds block their way. That’s all this situation is, a cloud. You still have your star seed, you still _shine_. You lit up the galaxy before and you can do it again, you just have to believe in yourself. You _need_ to believe in yourself, you have a job to do, a mission to complete. You’re strength lies in your ability to overcome adversity.

I continue to run through all the motivational quotes I know, If you can dream it, you can do it…. The body achieves what the mind believes… until I’ve coached myself to the point where I’m ready to face the world again.

I went to the Mess Hall for breakfast. The cook (who also disturbingly is the ship’s plumber) offered me a cup of coffee and a granola bar. We talked briefly about our experiences as facility maintenance workers as I nibbled at my breakfast. When I was finished, I made my way upstairs to see if the others were ready to go on the mission. That’s when I ran into Mordin watching Shepard, Bonnie, and Jacob getting ready to depart on the shuttle.

“Sailor Moon, would like to talk with you for a bit, if you have time”

“Sure Mordin, and you don’t have to call me Sailor Moon, you can just call me Lucy.”

“Apologies. Will take note for future conversations. Just excited to meet another Sailor Soldier. Very impressive.”

We walked into his lab as he talked.

“Another soldier? You’ve met one before?”

“Yes. Worked with one. Was working with Special Tasks Group. Some missions required Sailor Sur’Kesh’s assistance.”

Mordin made his way around the lab table and began to examine something through a microscope.

“Special Tasks Group? How did she end up working with you?

“STG a Salarian organization. Specializes in counterterrorism, infiltration, reconnaissance, assassination, sabotage. STG had knowledge of Sailor Soldiers, along with Dalatrass and Legion of One. Salarians curious as a people. Keep two types of secrets from family. First type personal or guilt-based. Invites suspicion, exploration. Puzzle to be solved. Reward for curiosity, intelligence. Drama! Other secrets more serious. Dangerous if discovered. Signals discourage curiosity for protection of family. Sailor Sur’Kesh was on STG before identity discovered, Captain Stanaka.”

He moved to, what I assumed to be a laptop or computer, and began typing.

“…Good Captain. Brave, clever, always tried to find non-violent solution to conflict… Made a mess of readings in lab. Identical to how we found you, ‘radiant’ readings warranted investigation.”

“So what did you do when you found out?”

“Captain Stanaka well respected but discovery groundbreaking. Was not sure if findings should be reported. She explained how Sailors are embodiment of celestial objects. Used to protect their worlds. Unlike other species, Salarians see logic behind your existence and advantage of knowing about it. Continued to work with STG, later sent to take care of Legion of One. Unfortunately did not survive... Knowledge of her existence proved dangerous as well.”

He paused, eyes staring at the screen in front of him, not looking at the words he typed, rather remembering the face of a fallen friend.

“Never thought I’d encounter another Sailor in my life. Salarians have short lifespan. But then you came. Knew you would convince Shepard, Sailors powerful allies. Seen first-hand.

I smiled, “So that’s why you said you’d look forward to working with me.”

“Correct. Eager to see in action.”

“Then why don’t we test her out now.”

Mordin and I turn, both of us too absorbed in our conversation we didn’t hear her come in. She saunters over to the lab table.

“Shepard and I had a little conversation last night and we’ve decided that in order for you to be a full candidate for the mission, we will need to test your combat abilities.”

“Officer Lawson, I do not think necessary. Personal experience in comba…”

Miranda cut him off, “Shepard thinks it’s a good idea and since he is not onboard the ship, that leaves _me_ in command. I want you down in the training room now. You will be sparring with a few opponents who I deem appropriate for your skill level.” She makes her way back to the doors. “ _Now_.” She commands.

I look back at Mordin and he gives me an apologetic look. I’ve got 99 problems and they’re all Miranda.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Jack_ **

It's all fucking fun and games until I get dragged into this shit. Miranda's got a hit on the new chick and just won't leave her alone. Personally I don't give two shits if the girl is fucked up in the head or whatever, as long as she doesn't poke her nose into my life, then I can live with ignoring her like I do with everyone else. I figure the reason the Cerberus Cheerleader is out to get her is because she makes her look like the mega bitch she really is. That or she's got some 10 year old crush on her.

Before, she could just point Shepard in the direction she wanted and he'd go. Not because he actually gave a fuck but because he had no choice. He's been brought back to life and put on this mission with a bunch of little Cerberus shits and no one he can trust. All he's given is that goody-goody Jacob and the queen bitch herself telling him to pick up people from the Illusive Man's _dossiers_.

Though once they picked up Shepard's old friend the Turian, things started to change… because now he was more getting more confident and now he had backup. Pretty soon he had that creepy scientist and me joining and then the balance of power shifted. Now Miranda can't just tell him what to do and when to do it as she had before, she was losing control. Only she didn't realize that then. No, she didn't realize what had been happening until the clusterfuck with the girl.

That shit was hilarious to watch her go through, I don't think I've ever seen anyone get so pissed off over something so stupid. And when she had to talk to the girl in Shepard's meeting… that was _priceless_. I didn't listen to much of what the girl said at first, I was too busy watching Miranda's face twitch in agitation in reaction to it. So after a while I decided to have a listen to what the fuss was about. She was talking about some _Game of Thrones_ , I don't know what the fuck that is but it sounds like a nerd's game. Then she said she was fucking around with swords or some shit when she tried to join a bunch of other dorks and was just _shut the fuck down_. What a nerd. She even laughed it off too so at least we know she's not one of those uptight bitches. She has that going for her at least. Correction… _had._

Any neutral feelings I had toward that chick had diminished the moment Resting-Bitch-Face came strolling down to my pit, telling _me_ that I had to report to combat training.

"Why the _fuck_ should I? You know I only take orders from _Shepard_."

"Because Shepard isn't here and his absence puts _me_ in command."

"Last I checked you don't have a _dick_ so stop acting like one."

"This is serious Jack. I may have had reservations about your dossier before but I can still see the potential you bring to this team and appreciate it. I can't say the same thing about this Sailor Moon or whatever she's called, we have nothing to go off of."

"Shepard doesn't seem to give a fuck and I sure as hell don't."

"Shepard is clearly under a lot of stress from the mission and as a result has been making _questionable_ decisions. As for you, you should care because having this untrained girl on the mission could jeopardize us _all_."

"So what are you going to do about it and why does it involve me?"

"I discussed several options with Shepard and _we_ agreed that a supervised sparring match would give us the evidence we need to determine if she is fit for combat situations. I was going to have Jacob do it but Shepard took him on the mission."

"It just sounds like you want me to beat the shit out of this girl. She's supposed to be from the past so she won't even know about biotics, doesn't seem fair."

"We expect the _best_ for this mission. If she can't handle a fight against you then she's not the best and _cannot_ be a part of the mission."

"And if she does?"

"Then _you're_ not the best."

…

I walked into the training room to find Miranda looking pissy as ever.

"Where's your little girlfriend?"

"I just left the Tech Lab with her, I don't know where she… Oh my god. What are you _wearing_? Where did you even get that?"

Sailor Moon or Lucy or whateverthefuckhernameis came in wearing some sort of tight pant with a tank top, both of which looked like she dumped a shit-ton of glitter and sequins on them.

"Oh this old thing? Just something I pulled out of the closet on the port observation deck."

"The port observation deck _doesn't_ have a closet."

"Oh that's right. Then I guess I had to _make_ them out of ice because I've been trapped in a glacier for 167 years and all I have is _one_ outfit that's not meant for fighting and Kelly's requisition order for more has yet to be filled in the 12 hours since it's been made."

Touché. This girl should be on the team for her ability silence Miranda alone.

After a moment of silent seething, Miranda made the call. "Get into position you two, we're starting."

We faced each other on separate sides of the sparring mat and crouched into position. She smiled at me.

"GO!" commanded Miranda.

I charged straight at the girl, feeling the sweet, warm feeling in my veins as my biotics powered up. I pulled my arm back preparing to send her flying when at the last second she ducked and rolled away from my punch. She's quick, I'll give her that. I spun around and shot out a Pull. The Pull-field landed right next to her. Can't move too quick when you're off the ground.

Lucy's eyes grew wide as she felt herself being lifted by the mass-lowering field. Tough luck kid, maybe next time. As she rose higher, her toes barely scraping the ground, she thrust her arms down and an icy blast shot down at her feet.

-Swishhhh-

She stood, feet held firmly in place on the ground by the ice as the Pull uselessly tugged at her then began to fade. Well, well… I guess I was wrong, looks like someone came ready to play. I pause to charge up for a Shockwave, she's not going anywhere anyway. Once I'm at full power I let it fly.

-POH POH POH POH-

The blasts advance towards her but just before it can hit it's mark on her stupid little face, she bends backwards until her hands are touching the floor behind her. The blast whizzes over her. I missed? I fucking _missed_. How the fuck did that happen?

"Then _you're_ not the best." Miranda's words from earlier pop into my head.

"Dammit." I mutter under my breath. Time to take this seriously.

I charge after her again as she tries to pull herself off the ground, my biotics pulse as my anger fuels them. I saw straight into her eyes as I swing my arm around to give her a hook to the face but what I didn't see was her hands as they swept and dissipated the ice that held her in place and just like before, she dodged my fist. Now I'm getting really _pissed_ off. She's too close to throw biotics at so I start throwing punches left and right, I kick in every direction getting more and more frustrated as she flips, rolls and dodges _every_ one. Soon I'm not even using real moves, I'm just flailing my arms and legs out, just doing _anything_ to fucking hit this girl _once_! Nothing!

My arms are now burning, my legs exhausted… I can't keep this up much longer. Then it hit me, actually _she_ hit me. She had been waiting me out the entire time waiting for the perfect moment to strike back in a single shot. I had played right into her strategy and pushed myself to the point where I didn't even have the energy to try to throw up a barrier or hell, even just my arms to shield myself, when she thrust an ice hardened fist in my gut. I was down for the count.

Damn. I should have been more pissed for being beat but fuck it, I'm too tired. This isn't even my battle, its Miranda's.

"I'm done." I say aloud for Miranda to hear. Sorry, looks like the new girl stays.

"What the _hell_ was that, were you even trying? You escaped from Purgatory yet you couldn't hit her even _once_?"

"Shut up, bitch. You know I don't do hand-to-hand combat."

"If you want something done properly…" Miranda mumbled to herself as she approached me. "Get up and wait over there. You…" she points to Lucy, "You will be sparring with me."

"With you? But you said I just had to spar with Jack and then I was done."

"I said you would be fighting against opponents I deem appropriate. I believe Jack was going a little easy on you so I will have to become involved personally."

"I'm sure you would _love_ to be _'involved personally'_." I yell at Miranda

"Shut up, Jack." She growls back.

This fight is going to be good.

"Ready…" begins Miranda, arms starting to glow blue, "GO!"

Miranda charges at Lucy and thrusts her arm out to punch, and just like she did with me, she dodges, that slippery little bitch. Always quick to anger when it comes to certain people, Miranda begins throwing out swift kicks and punches, each growing more erratic as they miss their marks. Shit, I hope I didn't look that bad.

"Arghhhh… !" she growls between punches. "Stop running away!"

"So you can hit me? I don't think so." Lucy retorts as she dodges yet another sweep of Miranda's leg. "By the way, how's your plan of removing me from the ship coming?"

"What's going on here?"

I turn and it's Shepard with Jacob and the Turian.

"We're just having ourselves a little training match, Miranda's orders. I think she wants to instigate a mutiny." I look back at the cat fight still taking place, they didn't notice the others come in.

"How's it going?

"I don't want to talk about it… but Miranda wasn't satisfied with the result so she jumped in to finish the job herself."

Jacob spoke up next, "What is she trying to accomplish with all this?"

Then the Turian beat me to the answer "She wants the girl gone and _bad_. It's probably best we let her get this out of her system."

"Arghh… -huff- stop talking! And stop -huff- moving!"

"So I was wondering,…" a fist flies past her head "…do people still…" another fist flies at the other side of her head "…quote _Mean Girls_?" she does a back flip.

"I SAID _STOP MOVING_." Miranda shouts as a burst of blue biotics flashes. She glows blue and holds her arms up, in front of her is Lucy, trapped in a stasis field. Realizing what she had done, a cruel smile crept on her face, like a cat with a fat mouse in its claws.

She does her little sashay hip-swaying walk until she's face to face with the suspended girl. "Looks like you should have done a little less talking." She says with so much smugness it'd make anyone want to kick her teeth in. Lucy quirks up the side of her lips to form a crooked smile.

-crackkkkle, creaaak, crackkkkle-

"Ow… OW… ARGHH!" Miranda sheiks in pain clutching her fingers, releasing Lucy from the stasis field as the floor below her starts to form a thin sheet of ice.

"Looks like my frostbite is worse then my bark." Lucy quips and Miranda staggers back. "and none for Gretchen Wieners!" She shouts as she whips her leg around and sends Miranda skidding across the floor.

"Alright that's enough. I think we've got everything we need."

" _Shepard_?" sputters Miranda as she rolls to her hands and knees to get up "You're back? How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to see Lucy is capable enough to be a part of the team."

"But Shepard, I still… we have to…"

"We have to what? She's shown herself to be capable of taking on you and Jack in hand-to-hand as well as able to adapt and think quickly in a fight. She's with us. So get over it or get out, that's an _order_."

"…Yes Commander."

"Now I need all of you to focus, we've got a situation. Things didn't go as expected on Korlus, Okeer is dead."

"Dead? What happened?"

"He died protecting his research, a prototype for a pure Krogan. We've brought it onboard and have it waiting in Port Cargo."

"A pure Krogan? On the ship?"

"Relax, it's in a stasis pod." Assured Jacob.

"Good. I think bringing the Krogan was a good idea, we can study it."

"I don't intend to let it stay in stasis. Without Okeer, we don't have the heavy hitter we need and a pure Krogan would fix that and pack a hell of a punch."

"Yeah," I agree "Crack it open. Let's see what a pure Krogan's got."

"No, it's too dangerous! The value we get from studying it will be enough without waking it."

"Miranda this is your last warning or I'll have you removed from the mission for insubordination. This is _my_ ship, _I'm_ in charge, not you. We're releasing the Krogan."

"Yes Commander." Miranda's face, smooth and emotionless like stone.

We both knew that any shred of control she had over Shepard is gone now. It's about _fucking_ time.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Lucy/ Sailor Moon_ **

“EDI, how many kids did the Duggars end up with?”

_Including the grandchildren of the original 19, the Duggar family ended up with 89 children in total before the Population Stability Act in 2045. The PSA followed the same guidelines as the One-Child Policy in China in the late 20 th century where, in an effort to control the rapidly growing population, families were restricted to raising a single child. The Duggars stood by their no birth-control beliefs and as a result, many of the Duggars chose to abstain from intercourse to prevent more pregnancies. However this proved to be their undoing and many of them divorced, killed each other, or violated the law and served sentences in jail._

“Well that escalated quickly… At least we can rest easy that the fondling issue never resurfaced.”

When Shepard and the others came back from the mission earlier today, they had brought back a “tank Krogan” which piqued my interest. I don’t know what a _Krogan_ is but from my understanding, the one in the tank is technically a baby and who doesn’t love baby things? Unfortunately, when I asked if I could go see it, I got a hard _no_ from Shepard and was ordered back to my quarters.

To pass the time while they planned their next move with the Krogan baby, I took a shower and I’ve been sitting here talking to EDI the last couple hours. Well, it’s more like asking questions about current events. When I tried asking her personal questions, she would blink red and say, “That is classified.” Or “I am blocked from that information.”

Once I got the synopsis of the major events of the last 167 years, including the discovery of element zero, the mass relays, the first contact war, yada yada yada… I started getting off track with my line of questioning, hence the Duggars. I may not have access to my computer, but that doesn’t seem to have stopped me from falling down the internet hole. I need a hobby. Then something dawned on me.

“EDI! What have I been doing with my life? I’m wasting our time with questions about the Duggars! What I really need to know is if George R.R. Martin completed the Game of Thrones series before dying of cardiovascular disease or old age.”

 _George R. R. Martin passed away at the age of 73, just 4 days after publishing the final installment of the_ Song of Ice and Fire _saga, ‘_ A Dream of Spring’ _.”_

“Yes! YES! Finally I can find out if R plus L equals J!....EDI! Does R plus L equal J?”

 _In “_ A Dream of Spring _”, it is…_

“WAIT! I take it back, no spoilers. Can you get me a copy of the book instead?”

 _I have put in a requisition order for a personal datapad with a copy of “_ A Dream of Spring _” on it._

“You’re a jem, EDI. A real jem. Thank you.”

I fidget on the bed. The good news is that I get my book, the bad news is that I don’t get it now. So what am I supposed to do now? I don’t think that when I was sent to my quarters, that Shepard and the others had grasped the concept that I lack all possessions except for this bed and the clothes on my back. I could easily pass the time if I had my…

“Hey EDI? Is there any wood on this ship? Like boxes or palettes or something?”

_There are wooden shipping pallets left over from Freedom’s Progress in the shuttle bay._

When life gives you lemons, you _make_ lemonade.

…

“Oi, what are ya doin down there?”

I was digging through the palettes in the shuttle bay and stopped to look up at the red haired Irish-sounding man looking down at me from the window above.

“Oh, sorry, do you still need these?”

“No, but I don know what you’d be needin' it for.”

“Just a little DIY project of mine, don’t worry about it.”

The Irish-man shrugged and left, leaving me to my pile of wood. I was in luck and was able to find a few nice knotted planks. Time to work my magic, literally.

I held out my hands, feeling the microscopic dots of moisture in the air. I drew my hands in, pulling the tiny drops with them until I cupped my hands, the water pooling between them. I then flattened my hands and slid one over the other, my cool touch creating a thin sheet of ice. I held the sheet with one hand and used my thumbnail on the other to pick at one of the edges of the sheet, creating a jagged edge.

“Too bad no one _saw_ what I did there.” I chuckle to myself as I hold up the tool to inspect it.

I grab one of the planks and press the saw against it. I hope this works. I press into the blade and it slices through the wood. Pleased with the cutting ability of my saw, I line up the other planks and draw an outline of where I want to cut and after 45 minutes and 3 callouses later I get what I need.

“Okay EDI, where can I find a couple wires no one will miss?”

 _You can find a small supply of wires up the stairs in engineering_.

I’m running up the stairs before she finishes talking, this could be my best idea yet!

…

“Okay so I’ve got my wood pieces assembled and my wires, now I just need a few bolts or like twisty knobs or something. Know where I can find something like that?”

_There is a work station in Port Cargo which may have the tools you need. However, Shepard has ordered that no one go there._

“Oh c’mon EDI, I just need a few little pieces and it’s done! Then I’ll go back to my quarters and I won’t bother you or Shepard anymore. I’ll only be a minute.” I say as I press the button to open the door. Then a nagging feeling tugs at the back of my brain.

“Who’s there? Shepard?” A deep voice rumbles.

Tits. I enter the room to find one of those huge teenage mutant ninja turtles pacing along the wall, agitated like a trapped animal.

“Uh..No, it’s Lucy, I’m part of the team.”

Michelangelo snaps his head back to lock eyes with me and snarls. He charges forward. “Shepard said no one would bother me here. I need to be alone.”

I raise my hands in a sign of surrender to show I’m not a threat and try to remain calm. “I’m sorry, I… I didn’t realize. I was just looking for pieces for this thing I’m making” I raise the scrap artifact for him to see and nod toward the workbench.

Leonardo narrows his eyes, teeth still bared in a grimace “what is it.” He demands.

“If you can help me find little screw knobs, then I’ll show you.” I smile at him.

Raphael blinks slowly then turns to rummage around the tank.

“Hey, I thought you were supposed to be a _baby_ tank Krogan?”

“Hah” he snorts “I was grown in the tank. This is just my first day out.” He grumbles.

“Well then happy birthday…uh, what’s your name?”

“Grunt.”

“Happy Birthday Grunt!” Personally, I like all the names I’ve been referring to him as better, but to each their own.

Donatello gave me the side eye and scowled. “I was not birthed. I was _made_ by Okeer and the Tank Mother to be a pure Krogan. All that I know has been imprinted on me but I feel nothing. Nothing but the need to kill.”

Yikes… skipped childhood and went straight to moody teenager. “Grunt, my friend,” I pause for effect, “the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.”

Blastoise stood quietly, letting the potent words of Mewtwo sink in.

“Hmph… I suppose you’re right. Maybe there’s more to me than being the product of Okeer’s experiments. I will think on this.” He extends a three-fingered hand to me with four silver pieces in his palm. “Are these what you’re looking for?”

“Yes! These are perfect, thank you!”

I take the pieces and screw them into the holes I had already made, and then wrap the wire around the tops. My work is complete.

“What is it?” Grunt asks, less harshly than before.

“It’s a..” I strum the wires and listen to the familiar chords “ukulele.”

The sounds had caught Grunt’s interest and he approached me, eyeing the instrument in my hands. He leaned down and sniffed at it, then brought up one of his fingers and plucked at one of the stings.

-ping!-

“What does it do?” he asked, eyes full of curiosity.

“Well it’s an instrument so you play music with it. Here, listen.”

I adjusted my fingers on the neck and sang along with the tune

 _Life and death and love and birth,_  
_And peace and war on the planet Earth._  
 _Is there anything that's worth more_  
 _Than peace and love on the planet Earth._

When I finished, I looked up to see Grunt with his eyes closed, his body relaxed for the first time since I came in. When he realizes that I’ve stopped playing he opens them slowly.

“What was that? What you did with the uka-lah-lee and your voice.”

“It’s music. Didn’t Okeer imprint any music for you?”

“No. I only know of Okeer’s enemies, the Krogan wars, and how to kill.”

“Well hopefully we can diversify your portfolio and find you some more interests.” Then I think of an idea “Grunt, would you like me to teach you how to play? I know you wanted to be alone and Shepard said no one would bother you but if you’d like, I could teach you or we can find other things you like to do.”

Grunt _grunts_ in assent and smiles and I smile back.

I wave goodbye and begin my trek back to my room, I did promise EDI. All things considered, I think meeting Grunt went pretty well. Better than what Shepard probably would have expected. It seems as though what they say is true, music does calm the beast …and that beast is my new friend.

* * *

Song is called "Peace and Love" from Steven Universe


	10. Chapter 10

**_Garrus Vakarian_ **

And…there. If my calibrations are correct, the accuracy of the Thanix have improved by 3.17%. I grab the collar of my armor and roll my neck to alleviate the stiffness and ache that had started to make its presence known. How long have I been working on this algorithm? Too long, I'd say. I check the time, it's 7:04, so I've been standing here all through the night cycle. I'd say I deserve a meal break, not that it's something to look forward to. The dextro-rations Cerberus was kind enough to provide for me, though providing the necessary nourishment I need, leaves something to be desired in flavor.

When I walk down the walkway from the Battery, I notice some of the Cerberus crew crowding around the table, gambling maybe? Engineer Donnelly regularly organizes Skillian- five poker games and lost 500 credits to Shepard in one of them. I've been invited to join in before, Donnelly seemed genuine in his offer but I could tell the other Cerberus officers were less keen to have me around. They were polite enough to pretend they wanted me to join as well, so to spare them any discomfort I declined.

"Play another one!" I heard someone say, probably goading a friend to raise the stakes.

"Ah, okay, just one more." I perk up at the sound of her voice. She's playing poker? Everything this girl does is a surprise. First coming out of the ice, punching Shepard, beating Jack, and pulling a hat trick on Miranda during their sparring match… I've got to see how she'll surprise us all next and when I push through the crowd, I'm not disappointed. In her delicate five-fingered hands she held a homemade looking wooden object with strings that looked similar to an _aulos_ , a string instrument from Palavan.

"This is a song from a TV show Jupiter and I would watch and we could really relate to it so we only had to change a few parts." She smiled wistfully as she looked back at the memory.

 _"_ _If you're evil and you're on the rise,_  
_you can count on the five of us, taking you down._  
 _Cuz' we're good and evil never beats us,_  
 _we'll win the fight, and then go out for pizzas!_

 _We are the Sailor Scouts,_  
_we'll always save the day._  
_And if you think we can't, we'll,_  
_always find a way. That's why the people,_  
_Of. This. World, believe in:_

_Mercury, Venus, Mars… Jupiter and Sailor Moon!_

_If you could only know_  
_what we really are._  
_When we arrived on Earth,_  
_from out beyond your star._  
_We were amazed to find_  
_your beauty and your worth,_  
_and we will protect your kind, and we will protect your Earth._  
_And we will protect your Earth!_  
_And we will protect you!_

 _I will fight for the place where I'm free._  
_To live together and exist as me._  
_I will fight in the name of the Moon Kingdom!_  
_And everything that I believe in._  
_I will fight for the world I was born in!_  
_The Earth is everything I've ever known._

 _The odds are against us,_  
_it won't be easy, but_  
_we're not gonna do it alone!_

 _We, are the Sailor Scouts!_  
_We'll always save the day!_  
_And if you think we can't, we'll,_  
_always find a way._  
_That's why the people, of, this, world,_  
_believe in:_

_Mercury, Venus, Mars,.. Jupiter and Sailor Moon."_

She smiled when she was done but it didn't reach her eyes which had begun to shine with emotion. The Cerberus Crew didn't seem to notice as they clapped when she finished singing her song of friends long lost. Maybe I'm the only one who can see it because I've seen it so often in my own reflection since Omega. I see the faces of Erash, Monteague, Mierin, Grundan Krul, Melanis, Ripper, Sensat, Vortash, Butler, and Weaver in my head. I see their slaughtered bodies strewn about the room, blood of orange, red, blue… of all differing species mingling together... Then I see Sidonis' face… I take a deep breath to calm myself before my rage threatens those standing, oblivious, around me. His time will come, he can't hide forever.

"So there are four others like you?" Engineer Daniels' voice brings me out of revenge fueled reverie.

"Actually there are 13 in the Solar System. Sailors Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and I protect the Earth and inner system from threats within the system. Sailors Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta guard the middle of the system along the asteroid belt and Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, and Pluto protect the system from threats outside our system. There's also Sailors from beyond our system and, I assume, they have a similar structure in protecting their own home worlds.

Within each of us is a Star Seed that grants us the powers of our native planets but we don't fully realize our powers until around puberty… well, puberty plus a traumatic experience actually, as if normal puberty wasn't traumatic enough. Jupiter would joke that we were X-Men because… you guys don't know what X-Men are, do you? Never mind. Anyway, so if or when we die and our star seed is still within us, then we are reborn and the process starts again."

"Wow, I can't believe no one knows about any of this! You'd think someone would have discovered you guys by now." Daniels said incredulous.

"If your kind is supposed to protect us from threats outside the Sol System, then where were your friends during the First Contact War?" A Cerberus officer shot at Lucy.

She looked stunned at first by the accusatory tone and then seemed to deflate a little. "It's my fault…" she said in almost a whisper. "I'm the leader of the Solar System Sailors, er, I _was_ the leader. After our last mission, I should have been more careful, when I got trapped in the ice… I…I abandoned them. I don't know what's happened to them, if they were able to finish it without me, if they were hurt or killed… If or when they were reborn, they may not have come together to form the team or may not have awakened at all. I don't know, but it's my fault and I'm sorry. I know that although it wasn't a long war with high casualties that a lot of people still lost loved ones because of me. I can't change what I've done but hopefully I can start to make it up to those I've hurt by helping fight the Collectors. I'm going to fight for them and all the friends I've lost, I owe it to them. Even if it means my life, then it's a life well spent because I know that someday I'll meet them again in our next life, when the Collectors are nothing more than an old scary story. I swear I will."

He voice grew stronger as she spoke, by the time she got to the end, her tone conveyed such absolute conviction and authority that it made you want believe in her, her words, in the mission. It made you want to believe that success was nothing less than what we'd achieve. If she and Shepard got together delivered this kind of speech then we'd have half the galaxy following them into hell. I wonder what would have happened if she had lead my team on Omega. I have often thought about what would have happened if Shepard had led them, what he would have done differently, but no matter what he would have done, they would still be alive. He's Shepard after all, savior of the _Citadel_ and I'm just a failed C-Sec officer who couldn't keep 12 people alive.

_Officer Vakarian and Lucy, Shepard has requested that you come up to the bridge._

Looks like I won't be eating my rations today. I make my way to the elevator and the Cerberus crowd clears to let Lucy pass to follow me. Once the doors shut in the elevator, I realize we're alone… in silence.

"Ah," I begin "I would ask about your people's history but ah, I think I've already heard good bit about it."

She gives a breathy laugh "Ha yeah, before things got a little personal. Sorry about that." She smiles apologetically.

"hmm, no need. I can ah, empathize with your situation. It's difficult for me to keep my own ah, emotions in check sometimes. I can get a bit… aggressive..." To tell her, as Joker puts it, I "pulled the stick out of my ass and beat people to death with it", might scare her.

When she doesn't say anything, I notice she still has the instrument clutched in her hands. "So where did you get that ah,…" I gesture to it, not sure what to call it in human terms. She looks down at it as if just realizing she had it.

"Oh this? It's a Ukulele, I made it. I found the parts with EDI's help… and uh, Grunt's."

"Grunt? Who is that?"

"Please don't tell Shepard, but It's the tank baby Krogan. Personally I could think of at least 5 more appropriate names…"

"You went to see the Krogan _alone_?" I interrupted her, shocked. How the hell did she manage to survive that encounter? When Shepard came out after he released it, he said it tried to kill him moments later. "Did he hurt you? How did you even..?" I trailed off, not sure how this even happened.

"No, he didn't hurt me! Grunt is just scared and confused I think. He was technically born yesterday, all he really knows is about killing and whatever else was imprinted on him, and I doubt any of it included Shepard, you, me, this ship… He needs time to adjust. To figure out who he is and who he wants to be."

"Krogan are not known for being that profound."

"That's stereotyping." She frowns "Stereotyping can be hurtful and is only useful for marketing. Everyone is unique and shouldn't be judged based on appearances. We're talking about Grunt here, an individual. An individual who enjoys music, I might add."

"Is that so? That _is_ unusual for a Krogan however I still disagree. A stereotype is formed because it's something generally acknowledged about a person based on past experiences."

"How would you stereotype me?" She challenged.

I looked down at her and thought about it for a moment. She's a human from before the First Contact War yet hasn't shown fear or prejudice against the aliens she's encountered. She wears an outfit with a short skirt, bows, and delicate, little shoes with heels… just everything about her appearance isn't something you'd expect an experienced fighter to wear yet she's fought Shepard, Jack and Miranda and _won_. I've got it.

"You're a stereotype of a non-stereotype." I say and my mandibles flare in the equivalent of a smile.

She laughs "Touché, Bonnie. Touché."

Just then the elevator doors to the CIC open and we find Shepard at the galaxy map.

"Shepard." I say and he turns to us.

"We've been doing mineral scans and found an anomaly on Capek. EDI discovered a distress signal from the Hahne-Kedar facility and she thinks it's the possible source of a VI virus that caused the MSV Corsica to crash and led Jarrahe Station's internal VI to kill the scientists aboard. I want bring Lucy on this mission and see how she does. Garrus, I'm not expecting a firefight but you know how it usually goes so I need you there too. I know I've been working you a lot lately but I would feel better if I had you there with us to watch our six."

I'm exhausted after being up all night calibrating but Shepard's trust means everything to me so I agree to join the mission. I've gone on missions in worse conditions, I think as I touch the scars on the right side of my face.

"One second!" Lucy shouts as she runs through the doors to the tech room. I only hear the first door hiss open and close so she must be in the small hallway. While she's gone, Jack walks out of the armory happily examining her new hand-cannon. "You guys going on a mission now? Who else is going?" She asks.

As if on cue, the doors hiss open and Lucy comes out wearing the outfit we found her in, though no longer scorched. The torso is white with translucent layered short sleeves that almost look like feathers. In the center of her chest is a large, translucent, icy, blue-green bow pinned with gold brooch adorned with a large, yellow stone in the center. A collar in the same icy colors as the bow flows over her shoulders and forms a v, connecting in the front, behind the brooch as well.

A gold V band frames her waistline and then flares out in a pleated skirt that is white at the top then fades to gold and from gold to icy blue-green. In the back of the skirt is another bow, similar to the one on her chest but with long ribbons streaming down to the backs of her knees. She wears gloves that go up to her wrists and are trimmed in gold. Around her neck is a gold choker with a crescent moon that matches the ones she wears as earrings and the crescent in center of her forehead on a delicate gold tiara. How did she change so quickly?

"Jesus… and I called Miranda the Cheerleader. You're not actually wearing that out on the mission." Said Jack.

"Yes, it's what I always wear." Sailor Moon shrugs.

"Tights?" Jack laughs.

"I wear the required uniform."

"Tights."

"That's enough," Shepard cut them off. "We have a mission to do and a limited amount of time to do it. There's a sandstorm coming in. Sailor Moon, what kind of gun do you usually use?" He asks as he sorts through the gun rack.

"Gun?" She asks confused. "Do finger guns count?" She extends the pointer fingers on both her hands and bends her thumbs, then waves them up and down imitating firing guns. "Pah-pow, safest guns in the galaxy." She smiles.

Jack groans and Shepard frowns, clearly not amused by the joke. "You insist on wearing that outfit instead of using armor and you don't use any firearms. What use are you going to be if you can't defend yourself. I'm starting to have second thoughts about this whole thing."

She opens her mouth to respond but I jump in before she gets the chance to. "Shepard, let's just trust that she knows what she's doing, she's handled everything better than expected so far. I say we see what she can do in the field."

"Either I prove I'm capable or I get killed and I'm no longer your problem. It's a win-win scenario for you, Commander Shepard. Mark Cuban would be jumping at this kind of deal."

Shepard thinks over everything and after a few moments, he nods. "Noted."

…

We find the burning wreckage on Capek, just as the AI had reported. The surface is dry rocky wasteland covered in debris from the crash. When we disembark from the Kodiak, the shuttle VI gives us a status report.

_A sandstorm is approaching from the Northwest. Proceed with caution._

We follow Shepard's lead and explore the crash site, looking for clues. Among the debris we find a datapad with the system status reports. Shepard scans through them then moves on. After 15 minutes of combing through the rubble, we made our way to the burning ship. Once there we find a shipping manifest.

"Be on the lookout for any LOKI or YMIR mechs. It seems they had been self-activating on the ship and detonating." Shepard warns.

_Hostiles powering up at your location. Recommend immediate extraction._

"Take cover." Shepard commands.

We hunker down behind a stack of crates as LOKI mechs begin to approach.

" _Subdue and suppress…Hostiles detected."_ Their automated voices call out as they begin to fire on us.

Sailor Moon was peeking out from over the crate when Shepard yanked her down. "Get _down_!" he growls.

I begin picking off mechs with my sniper but they keep coming. "Dropped one!"

"Stay down. Don't get out of cover without my order. Garrus and I will take care of the mechs."

"So… you just want me to sit here and do _nothing_?" Sailor Moon questions as Shepard picks off two mechs with his pistol.

Together Shepard and I continue to lay on the pressure, leaving the field littered in mech parts but they just keep coming. As I stop to reload I see Sailor Moon is looking out over the crate again, her lips pursed and eyebrows scrunched together. Then she looks down at Shepard as he shoots from the side of the crate. After a moment she seems to make a decision.

I'm reloaded but as I pull up my rifle, a blur of white vaults over the crate. "SHEPARD!" I call out when I realize she's walking, _out in the open_ , toward the firing mechs.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" He yells out at her but she doesn't stop.

As she nears the mechs, they continue to fire at us. Wait… they're firing at just _us_ , why aren't they firing at _her_? A few bullets that get too close to her on their way to us sprinkle on the ground at her feet. She continues to press forward. I peer through my scope, ready to off the mech closest to her, the automatic targeting on my visor locking onto the heat signature. Something is off though. I see her and the mech through my scope but I'm only picking up thermal readings on the mech not… her…It's starting to make sense now! This is why EDI couldn't find her in the vents and just as she did when she was trapped in Miranda's stasis field, she's freezing the air around her. She's created her own kind of kinetic barrier while also cloaking herself from non-organics who can only use thermal readings to see! Clever girl.

She swings her arms around, tiny flakes of snow and ice follow her hands forming a sword in each hand. Casually, she twirls them in her hands as she approaches two mechs, her mouth moving as if she were saying something but my translator doesn't quite pick it all up. She swipes the swords across their necks, "…nonstop pop pop of stainless steel…" she turns and buries one of the swords into the chest of another mech "…I got such a good heart…" she charges at another group of mechs and slashes her swords, sending parts flying. "…I am light so I gots ta win..." She turns around and slices a mech vertically in half "…no matter how many cats I break with, I break who you sending me."

I turn to Shepard, "is she singing?" he looks as confused as I am.

"No, I think she's… _rapping_?"

"…said FREEZE!..." She continues as she shoves both swords into the torso of another mech with enough force to lift it off the ground. Spinning around with her swords tearing away at the mechs within her reach he bops her head to the beat of her song. "…First we gonna rock, then we gonna.. roll!" A mech head rolls across the ground "…X gon give it to ya, he gon give it to ya…" She kicks another mech back, sending it stumbling "…you against me, me against you, whateva whateva…" She charges back at it swiping her swords up, cleanly removing it's arms "…you wanna fight this?" She kicks it again and knocks it over backwards. When its on the ground she stomps the head in "…fight these tears."

"I'm fine with this, I was kind of tired anyway." I tell Shepard.

He says nothing but continues to watch where the mechs are pouring in from.

"YMIR inbound!" he yells out to her pulling up his assault rifle.

The heavy-duty mech lumbers in, its optics facing our direction, oblivious to Sailor Moon a few meters away from it. She charges toward it as it raises his rocket launcher, locking onto our location.

-FWOOSH-

Ice shoots up beneath her feet, launching her 10 feet in the air, over the hulking mech. She drives the blade straight down through its head and flips back, tucking and rolling as she lands on the ground. "...where my Sailors at?" It would seem I now have to compete to be the most stylish killer. Damn.

The mech jerks and crackles as it begins to short circuit. "You guys going to sit there and do nothing or are we leaving before the storm hits?" she calls out to us. Shepard and I glance at each other then jump out of cover and make a run for the shuttle. The YMIR mech detonates behind us as we jump on the Kodiak where Sailor Moon is waiting.

Once we've lifted off Shepard turns to Sailor Moon. "What the hell was that? We're you _trying_ to get killed?"

"No, I wasn't. But I wasn't going to just sit there and do nothing the whole time!"

"When I give an _order_ , you are to follow it."

"If I had followed your order, then I would have just sat there the whole time and you never would have been able to see that I'm capable of handling myself. You'd never stop babying me and I'd never be of any use to you or the mission!" She countered.

They're both right, in their own way. She should listen to orders but with the short leash Shepard has her on, we would never move past this uncertainty in how she handles what we're up against. Now we know. She's just as worthy of being on the squad as the rest of us.

"Fine. As long as you follow orders from now on, I promise to treat you as an equal member of the squad." Shepard extended his hand to her. She takes it and they shake hands in agreement. "That's all I ask."


End file.
